Longbow
Description The Longbow has seen service in the armies of the Inner Sphere since the days of the Star League and is one of the most well known fire support 'Mechs in existence. The Longbow is a massive 'Mech weighing in at 85 tons and is able to move at a tops speed of 54.0 km/h thanks to a Strand 255 fusion engine. The Longbow is protected by fourteen and a half tons of armor. Some have criticized the design for its lack of CASE - making an otherwise rugged 'Mech vulnerable to a loss by an ammunition explosion. As a fire support 'Mech though the Longbow is a trusted and reliable 'Mech that can be counted on to carry out the mission it is designed for. Armament The primary weapons on the Longbow are its LRM launchers. The Longbow carries four launchers in all. The largest are a pair of Holly LRM-20s which have the firepower of two Delta Dart LRM-5s added to them. Combined, these launchers can put a devastating barrage of up to fifty missiles up to six hundred and thirty meters down range. To protect itself in close combat, the Longbow has two Ceres Arms Medium Lasers. Variants *LGB-7V - The 7V variant of the Longbow upgrades the design to more modern specifications. The 'Mech is powered by an XL engine that weighs half as much as the original engine. The 'Mech also removes the two LRM-5 launchers and adds Artemis IV to the LRM-20 launchers, and CASE for added protection. For close combat, the 7V has 5 Medium Pulse Lasers. To add a little more long range firepower, the 7V has also has an ER Large Laser. BV (1.0) = 1,366, BV (2.0) = 1,8163 *LGB-OW - To add some speed to the Longbow, the OW variant removes two LRM-5 launchers, two Medium Lasers, and five and a half tons of armor. This allowed the top speed of the Longbow to be increased to 64.8 km/h allowing the 'Mech to keep up with most heavy 'Mechs. BV (1.0) = 1,0344, BV (2.0) = 1,372 *LGB-12C - A recent upgrade of the Longbow, the 12C variant is designed to maximize the 'Mechs fire support capabilities. The 'Mech has two LRM-20 launchers and two LRM-15 launchers, giving it an incredible bombardment capability and is capable of firing 40% more missiles down range than the base model. The 'Mech has three ER Small Lasers for close combat. The 12C variant is capable of doing this through the use of an XL engine that saves a great deal of weight. BV (1.0) = 1,3425, BV (2.0) = 1,686 *LGB-13C - This upgrade of the 12C mounts six Doombud MML 7s, each of which is tied to an Artemis IV FCS. Six tons of CASE-protected ammunition supply these launchers. Three Diverse Optics ER Small Lasers provide paltry backup, though massed short-range missiles coming from the Multi-Missile Launchers are sure to deter smaller 'Mechs. A larger engine brings the 13C to a speed that matches that of the OW. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 1,397 *LGB-13NAIS - This variant removes all missile launchers from the Longbow and uses a standard Fusion Engine, though it does use an Endo Steel frame to save weight. Each arm mounts three Light Autocannon/5s that can make use of special munitions produced by the Federated Suns. To ensure that it can mount such ammunition, seven tons are alloted to the ammunition bins. A Guardian ECM Suite protects it from enemy electronics, while a C3 Slave uses targeting data from other C3 equipped units to improve its accuracy. The 13NAIS mounts on ER Small Laser and a pair of ER Medium Lasers, along with a pair of B-Pods for use against battle armor. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 1806 *LGB-14C - This upgrade of the 12C uses six Doombud MML 9s with ten tons of ammunition supplying them. For backup, it uses three ER Medium Lasers. It also mounts an additional ton and a half of armor, though it has two fewer double heat sinks. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 1,421